


Haters: All Sizes and All Ages

by ridingwaves



Series: A Dollhouse Of Sorts [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Blink and you'll miss it, Canon, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I ORPHANED THIS WORK AND I'M RECLAIMING IT NOW, Implied Sexual Abuse, PLEASE READ AUHOR'S NOTE, Verbal Abuse, a hint of seongjoong, a shitty choregrapher, group meeting, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 15:10:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19112227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ridingwaves/pseuds/ridingwaves
Summary: A new choreographer had been assigned to the group. This guy had been pulling him aside frequently, and under the pretense of making insightful observations, made a lot of observations, similar to comments that he had seen online.Further observations during dance practice revealed that not only was he cruel, he was also a pervert.(PLEASE READ TAGS AND NOTE)





	Haters: All Sizes and All Ages

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this was actually my first ATEEZ fic. I orphaned it because, honestly, I was scared (?). I know that abuse is something that happens in the industry but I hated myself for writing it with ATEEZ as the characters because I never want something like that to happen to them, to anyone, ever. It's like a sort-of superstition, I guess? That if I put it out there, it might become true. I was going to delete it but I wanted to give it a chance. 
> 
> But I see that it would be stupid to simply ignore it because my brain thinks that it might happen in reality if I write about it. 
> 
> I have decided to reclaim this and work on the arc, try to deliver the message I have in mind as best as I can in future works. I hope that I am able to do well, I swear I'll try my best, maybe base the stories on actual incidents that some kpop artists have experienced, TheEastLight being one example. There have been instances of both physical and sexual abuse in the industry, the dark side, and I don't know how well I'm going to portray it but I do hope that I do well. This fic can be considered as a prologue of sorts I think, though at this point, I don't have more than a vague outline for future fics. But please do look forward to a better, more detailed fic in the future.
> 
>  
> 
> Once again, the events described in the fic are not real and I hope it never will be real. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you Optimisticat (MsGoodDay) for the comment you left. It made me re-analyse some things.

Criticism from a mentor was important but harsh. It was a necessary bitter pill and Jongho understood it.

 

Criticism from strangers, a lot of whom probably knew nothing about music, who simply commented on everything without any solid arguments was simply harsh. And left a bitter taste. He knew that it was a bunch of lies and not constructive criticism, but it made him pause. He had a reason for it.

 

A new choreographer had been assigned to the group. This guy had been pulling him aside frequently, and under the pretense of making insightful observations, made a lot of observations similar to comments that he had seen online and dismissed. They sounded harsher and made him feel insecure since it came from someone who was supposed to be their teacher.

 

He knew that the choreographer was one of those people who was cruel but also good at their job. He knew that he shouldn’t think too much about the comments, but it was hard not to, seeing as he was a teenager and like any other teenager, needed validation. He let out his frustrations while working out, but for weeks, was unsure about how to go about confronting the man.

 

And then one day, he decided to observe.

 

After two weeks, he came to the conclusion that Seonghwa did not much like the choreographer either. He had observed their interactions and had found out that not only was the guy a cruel person, he was also a pervert. He had seen Seonghwa try to move away, not call attention to it, and actually succeed in becoming invisible (which was concerning and had to be discussed).

 

He had taken a few pictures and had recorded a few of the personal comments, nothing to do with dance or being an idol, that the man had told him. All he had to do now was discuss the issue with Seonghwa, call a group meeting, and then approach the managers so that the guy was (hopefully) fired.

 

 

*

 

 

“You did _what_?”

 

“You do _not_ sound happy like I thought you would be, why’s that?” Jongho was worried.

 

Seonghwa stared at him, his expression a cross between surprise, confusion, and a hint of relief (the last one could just be his own imagination, he was not sure at that point).

 

“No. I am not happy.” A blunt statement. “I mean, I’m happy you came to me, it’s great that you have proof, but Jongho, we cannot do this now.”

 

“Why not?” Demanded Jongho, unable to understand the deal. He had thought that it was a solid plan.

 

“We are in the middle of preparing for a comeback.” Said the older boy staring at him, arms crossed, “I know that what he is doing is wrong, disgusting, but he is also a person who gets the job done. We need his help. We are rookies, we cannot afford a scandal or a long break right now.” Seonghwa stressed, “You understand that, right?”

 

“I do, I don’t.” Mumbled Jongho, unable to meet his eyes. But then he reminded himself that the guy was a pervert and an asshole. He looked up at Seonghwa and put on his best game face, “Look, you’re right. We do need him. But we don’t deserve this! I’m pretty sure that he does not do this to anyone else because I’ve been spying and also sticking close to whoever has to go to meet him alone, and I don’t want him to get into anyone else’s head. We need to do something about it.”

 

The other boy looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed, frowning, thinking.

 

“You’re right,” He finally said, “We could call a group meeting and inform the others. But I don’t want this to go to the managers till the comeback is over.”

 

“Okay!” Agreed Jongho, knowing that his hyung had a point, “I’ll send a message in the groupchat. 9 tonight?”

 

“Sure.” Seonghwa shrugged. He got up and paused, “Are you alright?”

 

“I’m good. Or, well, I will be, once that creep is gone.” Replied Jongho.

 

The older boy smiled slightly, ruffled Jongho’s hair, and left the studio.

 

 

*

 

 

“ _What?_ ” Jongho could always count on Wooyoung to get enraged, “For how long? Why didn’t either of you tell us before? _Why?_ ”

 

“Hey, hey, calm down Woo.” Seonghwa moved to the younger boy and pulled him into a hug, “Look,” He began, addressing everyone, “I didn't know that the creep was talking to Jongho, but I was planning on keeping this under the wraps till the comeback is over. We cannot afford to let anything stop us now and all of you know this.”

 

Jongho looked at all of them carefully, gauging their reactions from his seat on Yunho’s lap. Their expressions varied from anger to surprise to hate. He turned to look at Yunho and found him staring. He smiled a little at the older boy, trying to convey “we're fine, I'm strong, your lap is comfortable” and was given a nose kiss for his effort. Ew.

 

“The important issue that has to be addressed right now is, are you alright? Both of you?” Asked Hongjoong, staring at Seonghwa in particular.

 

“I’m okay,” piped up Jongho, taking pleasure at the whiplash that he probably gave the leader and the flustered expression on his face. He smirked at the older boy as he added, “I’ve read similar comments online and I’ve decided that he is no better than preteens and teenagers.”

 

San laughed at the comment. It was obvious that they didn’t completely believe him but he didn’t think he had pour his soul out just then.

 

“I’ll be fine.” Stated Seonghwa, his voice subdued, eyes downcast. He had moved away from the others at some point and was fiddling with his hoodie. “It’s not that bad. It would be better if it had not happened at all, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with. Don’t worry.” He looked up and smiled at the others as he said the last two words, obviously trying to reassure them and honestly, almost succeeding at it.

 

“And that’s another concern of mine.” Jongho said, as he sat up, “You, hyung, are way too good at fooling people and becoming invisible. Case in point: I bet no one noticed you moving away all the way to the door. I'm worried.”

 

Seonghwa blinked, confused, as the others vocalized their agreement with the statement.

 

“I don’t do that!” Said Seonghwa, sounding defensive. He moved forward and sat next to Mingi, as if to prove his point. Jongho snorted.

 

“I don’t!” the older boy insisted, “And that's not an issue that you should be concerned about.” He glared at Jongho as he said that.

 

“You’re not exactly scary in your pjs, hyung.” Chirped Yeosang, amused, “You look like a really cute angry bird.”

 

The others started to tease the oldest boy, obviously trying to lighten the tense atmosphere in the room. Jongho decided to go to sleep since his job was over. He took out his phone from his pocket and left it in the living room, knowing that he would be tempted to go through naver again.

 

As he tried to make himself comfortable in his bunk, the door to his room opened and Hongjoong peeked in.

 

“Can I come in?” He asked.

 

“Sure.” He replied. The leader walked in, looked around, his face reflecting his tiredness and confusion. He placed his hand on the back of the chair (which, come to think of it, he didn’t think anyone actually used. It shifted from one room to another but he had never seen anyone actually using it) and looked at Jongho.

 

“Are you okay?” He asked.

 

Jongho shrugged. There was no black and white answer to that question. He knew that he shouldn’t listen to haters but there was a part of him which absorbed them. 95% of his brain knew that he was alright, that there was no need for him to worry about his vocals, his dance, and other things. But the irrational part of his brain, the annoying 5%, kept hounding him with useless and unnecessary questions that made him doubt himself.

 

He remained silent.

 

“Whenever you’re ready to talk,” Said Hongjoong, “you know you can come to any of us, right? Whatever it is that he said, don’t listen to him. Like you said, he’s like all the haters online. You can’t always please everybody. It’s okay, you’re doing a great job. Don’t let them get to you.”

 

Jongho smiled at the older boy and nodded. He would talk to him in the morning. Maybe.

 

Right now, he needed to sleep.

 

“Have you talked to Seonghwa hyung?” He asked. The other boy looked hesitant, worried. “What is it, hyung?”

 

“Well,” Began Hongjoong, “Seonghwa is not letting any of us talk to him. He keeps changing the subject and I’ve been informed of multiple individual problems in our team that I knew nothing about till he began talking.” He paused here and shook his head, an expression of wonder on his face, “I know you guys refer to him as mother but I did not know how perfect that term was till today. You kids hide a lot of things thinking no one notices, but looks like mum did!”

 

“I, for one, am not surprised.” Stated Jongho, having recently learned a lot about the eldest boy after observing him, “He’s like a hawk. The only reason he didn’t know about me was because I made sure not to let it show. But yeah, he _is_ kinda like a mother.”

 

“Right.” Hongjoong shook his head as he got up to leave, “And you seem to have inherited your pseudo-mother’s ability to hide away.” His tone was half-joking, half-serious. “We will have to talk about this later. Agreed?”

 

“Uh-huh.” He didn’t think that he had a choice in that issue. “Goodnight.” He waved lazily and turned around, tired and ready to sleep.

 

He would deal with mama hens and problems in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know your thoughts on this topic in the comments!


End file.
